What to Expect Wen You're Expecting
by GallowsTyphoon
Summary: Transpregnancy Kilik/Kid/Black Star AU Kid learns he's unexpectedly pregnant and has to decide what to do.
1. Chapter 1

Kid was never truly sure of anything. He was unsure about his identity, unsure about transitioning, unsure about dating, and unsure about moving in together. He was unsure how to decorate the house or which flatware set to buy. He couldn't decide on the color of the curtains or which frames to buy for the photos.

And now, he was unsure about the pregnancy test he held in his hand.

* * *

He'd come out to his father when he was only 13. He was unsure then too of how his father would react. Of course, his father's laid back and lighthearted approach to everything was nothing short of perfectly accepting. Immediately after, Kid began his life as a boy for the first true moment. He transitioned with the help and support of his friends, and especially of his later boyfriend Black Star.

They had dated for several years, over half a decade. A few years into which, they decided to try a polyamorous relationship with a mutual love interest, Kilik. Kid could only describe their relationship as chaotic bliss.

The two boys made him happy, happier than he'd ever been.

It was Black Star's idea to get the matching set of rings for the three of them when Kid's favorite set gifted to him by his father finally broke. It was a pleasant surprise. Kid was still unsure about them, wondering whether or not those rings were truly meant to be a symbol of marriage between them all. But the sweet kisses the two boys left on his ring reassured him that what they represented was a true bond.

Kid was unsure of everything, except for the fact that he loved Black Star and Kilik with his whole heart.

But now, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, wearing one of Kilik's loose t-shirts and a pair of Black Star's boxers and clutching a pregnancy test, Kid was unsure of every one of those moments.

Waiting for the result was making his heart race. Just one more minute.

He heard a knock.

"You okay in there, Kiddo?" Black Star called through the door.

His voice shook ever so slightly when he replied, "Yeah… I'll be out in a bit."

Silence. He'd left the door and had probably made his way to the kitchen. Kid was never awake before the boys and he was sure it worried them.

It wouldn't be long now. Kid closed his eyes tight. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the result anymore. He could feel his hand shaking.

He opened his eyes slowly.

Positive.

* * *

Kid didn't bother dressing before he went to the kitchen. He knew both of his boys would be there. He still had the positive test in his hand.

Black Star opened his mouth to make a joke as usual when he saw Kid standing there in his shirt, falling off one shoulder, but stopped when he saw Kid's shoulders slumped and his sad, almost scared expression. He couldn't even speak, but he didn't have to.

"Hey now, what's got you so torn up?" Kilik asked in his gentle voice. Kilik was always better at using words to calm Kid down.

Black Star was much better at physical communication and got up to delicately wrap his arms around Kid and hold him to his chest. It was slightly awkward since Kid was a little taller than him but neither of them cared.

Kid found both of them calming and let out a shaky breath. He could feel Black Star's tension as he nuzzled his face into Black Star's chest.

"I'm pregnant," he mumbled.

He could hear Kilik drop the fork he had been holding, and he heard Black Star's breath hitch and felt his heart skip a beat.

Whether they were horrified or worried, he couldn't tell.

"A-are you sure?" Kilik asked from the table.

Black Star held him back at arm's length so he could really look at Kid. He couldn't believe it when he saw the seriousness in his boyfriend's face.

Kid held up the positive test.

Black Star had to sit down.

Kilik came forward to see and guided Kid to a chair at the table. He dragged his chair closer and held both of Kid's hands in his.

"How are you feeling right now?"

He always knew how to approach a delicate situation with Kid. He always asked how Kid was feeling before deciding what to say, always so he knew what Kid really needed.

"Scared."

"You know we'll support you, Kid. No matter what you decide. You know that, right?"

Black Star grunted his agreement, not sure what to say in a moment like this.

"And if you want this, we'll both be happy, but we're not going to force you through something that you don't want to do."

He ran his thumbs over Kid's knuckles soothingly. Kid was feeling much calmer by this point.

"I think… I think I just need a little more time to decide. I don't know how to feel about something like this, honestly."

Black Star finally spoke up, with words that settled sweetly in Kid's heart, "We'll be there with you no matter what you decide."

* * *

It took time, nearly two weeks for Kid to decide to go to the clinic. He'd spent most of that time violently sick and confined to the bathroom or laying pitifully on the large l-couch while either Black Star or Kilik brought him water or sat with him and rubbed his back in soft circles.

And now, he was standing at the clinic with his boys each holding one of his hands. His face turned down in a grimace. Black Star squeezed his hand.

"You can do this," Kilik encouraged him.

Together, they stepped inside. The boys were asked to stay in the waiting room, leaving Black Star increasingly agitated and fidgety. Kid was led by a nurse to an examination room. God, how he wished his boys could have come with him.

He sat on the exam table and waited. His knuckles turning white with the force of his tight fists. He felt the knot in his throat and fought back tears.

When the doctor arrived, a sweet older woman, he couldn't even speak to greet her. She was understanding and gently patted his shoulder.

"Now, I hate to do this because I know it must be hard for you, but because of certain laws and policy, I have to show you an ultrasound before you can officially decide whether or not to go through with this," she explained.

He nodded.

She instructed him to lie back, placing a pillow under his head and asked him to hold his shirt up. She had warmed the gel beforehand so it wasn't too unpleasant when she spread it over his abdomen.

"This may be a little uncomfortable but I'll do my best to make this as easy as possible."

She took the ultrasound tool and pressed it firmly to his belly and moved it around until she had a good view.

"Well, you're almost ten weeks."

He had kept his eyes firmly glued to the opposite wall until she said this. And when he turned around to look and saw the tiny thing on the monitor. It looked like a little bean, yet it made his heart stop for a moment and sink.

He choked on a sob and covered his his eyes with both hands. When he saw it, he thought of it growing inside him. He thought of bringing it home, raising it with his boys and showing it the love they all could give it.

And when he thought of taking all that away from it, he felt his heart breaking.

He loved kids too much to do that. And he knew his boys did too.

And more than that, he knew that they would support him through the whole thing and be there for their baby when it came into the world.

"I can't do it," he sobbed. "I can't kill it."

The tech smiled and said, "Well then, I'll give you a card to a good doctor."

Kid was silent save for a few sniffles during the entire ride home. Black Star drove while Kilik held him in the back seat, smoothing back his hair and giving him soft kisses on the top of his head and forehead. He didn't say anything until they got home.

"I want to keep it."

Kilik smiled softly and Black Star pumped his fist before dissolving into a snotty, crying mess.

And that was how their family started.


	2. Chapter 2

Kid woke up quite suddenly the next morning and shot up out the bed, which proved an interesting challenge since he had been comfortably sandwiched between his boys, Kilik's hand loosely clutching his and Black Star's arm draped over his stomach.

He knew they'd be woken up by his rushing to the bathroom but he didn't have the time to care. He clapped his hand over his mouth and prayed he'd make it in time. And he did, luckily the toilet seat was almost always left up.

He sank to the floor as he retched forcefully into the bowl. He knew it was going to be torturous having to experience this on the regular.

Kilik had been woken up by his escape, though Black Star amazingly slept through it. It was early and he didn't want to get up, but he made his way into the bathroom to comfort Kid.

"Oh god, don't come in. This is awful," Kid groaned pitifully before vomiting once more. Surely that was all his stomach could hold.

Kilik rubbed his back and said in a low, comforting voice, "And leave you hear to suffer?"

Kid felt his body relax as Kilik rubbed small circles into his upper back, the nausea subsiding.

"Actually, that helped a lot. Thank you," he smiled.

"I'll get you some water."

He spent the rest of the morning curled pitifully on the couch, refusing to eat until he felt a little better. When Black Star had finally woken up, he came into the room and sat on the couch with him, running his fingers through his hair.

It must have been extremely early when Kid had gotten up. He hadn't had a moment to spare to look at the clock.

Kilik busied himself with making an easy breakfast for Kid, something that shouldn't upset his stomach further, and made something heartier for himself and Black Star.

Kid felt tears in his eyes when he thought of Kilik having to leave for work, exhausted from being woken up so early.

When Kilik brought the bowl to Kid and sat beside him, Kid broke down into soft sobs, "I'm so sorry."

"What for?" Kilik asked, genuinely confused.

"I woke you up so early even though you have work. You'll be so tired and it'll be my fault."

"Hey, don't worry about that. You couldn't help it and it's not like I can't handle it. And, come on, I'll be home before you know it and then we can take a nap together, how about it?"

Kid nodded, wiping his face half-heartedly.

Black Star rubbed his back, "Want me to call in and stay home with you?"

Kid shook his head. He didn't want Black Star to have to miss work either.

"Are you sure?"

Kid nodded again. Black Star pouted, slightly disappointed that Kid would rather him go to work than stay home with him, but he brushed it off. He knew Kid would be fine on his own, if only a little miserable feeling so down without his boys.

And so the day went on. When Kid was finally able to eat all of his breakfast, he got up to shower and dress before making his way to his work table. He was lucky enough to work at home as an illustrator for a wide range of books.

He'd been working on a set of illustrations for a children's book that featured a number of fairy tales. HE enjoyed working on the project quite a lot and found the simple style easy enough to work through without getting hung up on details. He liked this kind of work more. His more complicated illustrations tended to give him more trouble since he struggled with even the smallest mistakes sometimes. He struggled with a need for perfection, but he'd done better about it since moving in with his boys.

He ran his thumb over the ring on his finger as he waited for a section of ink to dry and smiled to himself. He truly was blessed to have them.

And so he worked for an hour or so until his phone rang, breaking him out of the fairy tale world. He noticed it was Kilik and his heart sank at the creeping thoughts of what the call might be about. He brushed it off, reminding himself that Kilik wouldn't be mad at him or anything else he might be imagining.

He answered, "Hello?"

Kilik actually sounded delighted at his answer, "Hey, you sound like you're feeling better."

"Yes, that's because I had you looking after me," he smiled tenderly.

"Well, that's good because I need a tiny favor if you're up to it."

"What is it?"

Kilik sighed, "I forgot my lunchbox on the kitchen island. If you can, do you think you could bring it to me?"

"Of course."

"You can bring it by later during my lunch hour, I don't want to rush you."

After a quick goodbye, he made a point of placing his keys by the lunchbox so he wouldn't forget and got back to the illustration he'd been working on. It didn't take long before that heavy tired feeling to finally catch up to him, however. He was amazed, he must have woken up at an ungodly hour if he felt this tired already. Maybe it was because he's pregnant?

He decided to take a nap before going out. Driving tired was never a good idea. He set an alarm on his phone and set it beside his pillow after settling himself into the large bed. The bed felt too big without his boys lying there with him so he took their pillows and placed them around him. It wasn't much but it did bring some comfort.

He felt himself drifting off rather quickly and fell asleep in no time.

* * *

Kid opened his eyes and shot up to check the time. Four o'clock. He'd slept right through his alarm and hadn't brought Kilik his lunch. He felt heartbroken. He felt so guilty over it. He knew Kilik would be home very soon and he felt dread washing over him at the thought.

Oh, how could he forget to do something so simple? How could he sleep so soundly that even his alarm didn't wake him? Stupid. The whole ordeal felt incredibly stupid. His cat, Reaper, who had curled up in the crook of his knee sometime during his nap, lifted his head and meowed as if to agree that Kid had done something incredibly stupid.

"Oh, not you too."

When Kilik arrived at home, he came into the bedroom and sat on the bed.

"Hey."

Kid had buried himself under the fluffy bed cover and all of the plentiful pillows. Kilik knew he felt guilty, Kid always did things like this when he felt guilty over something.

"Come on now, you know I'm not mad."

He started moving pillows out of the way. Kid didn't try to stop him. Once all the pillows had been moved away and the bed cover pulled back, Kid's face twisted with tears. He sniffled pitifully.

Kilik laid down with him and pulled him into a sweet embrace. He didn't say anything but just held him.

Kid sniffled and sobbed, "I forgot to bring you your lunch. I woke you up early and you had to take care of me. It's my fault you forgot your lunch and I forgot to bring it to you."

Kilik smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead. "It's okay," he said.

"No, it isn't."

Kilik sighed and held Kid there until he stopped crying. His tears didn't stop until Black Star had gotten home from his construction job and came into the room.

Black Star jumped onto the bed, practically yelling, "Don't tell me you're crying about something dumb already!"

Kid glared at him. Or rather, he tried. His eyes were puffy from crying, tears still tracked on his cheeks and his nose was running.

He grabbed a pillow and smack Black Star with it, scolding, "Don't get on the bed when you're sweaty and dirty from work! You didn't even take your shoes off. Now I'll have to launder the sheets."

Black Star only smirked at him. He wasn't very good at comforting him but he was certainly good at distracting him with another stupid something that would get his mind off whatever was making him upset. Black Star winked at Kilik and Kilik smacked him playfully.

Black Star brought his boys into a big, loving hug. Kid groaned at the sweat transfer but accepted the hug anyways.

They spent the rest of the night lazily watching movies, sprawled out on the big couch. Reaper claimed his spot on Kid's lap. Black Star also let his incredibly large dog in the house to sit with them. Titan was indeed a large dog, his head reaching to Kid's midsection standing on all fours. He sat on the end of the couch with his head over Black Star's legs.

They really couldn't have been more comfortable.

Kid's stomach rumbled and broke the settled comfort. He blushed in embarrassment, remembering that he slept through lunch. Black Star laughed loudly and Kilik chuckled.

"How about helping me in the kitchen?"

He nodded and followed.

Kilik was the better cook of the three of them. Kid had reasonable skill in the kitchen and Black Star was hopeless. They had made a rule of Black Star being disallowed to use the stove unless someone was with him. He never dared. They kept easy to make foods for him during lunch since lunch was a free-for-all. Kilik made breakfast and dinners every day, with the occasional exception that Kid cooked for them. They usually cooked together when friends visited. Kid would rarely cook by himself, reserving that for when his father visited.

He did enjoy helping Kilik cook even if he didn't do much when he did. It was one of the small joys of their married life. Black Star always sat at the kitchen island bar and watched them, happy enough just to watch and chat while they prepared the meal.

Over dinner, Kid decided to discuss plans.

"I already called to set up the first prenatal appointment."

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Black Star asked.

"Well, I'd prefer if both of you were there, but I don't expect both of you to be able to miss work to be there."

"We'll make it work," added Kilik.

Kid sighed, "I just wonder what they'll think. A transgender boy with two boyfriends coming in for a prenatal examination."

"Hey, don't worry about it. They'll probably just be jealous that our family's better than any of theirs."

"Oh, hush," Kid smiled and nudged his leg under the table with his foot. He sighed after, "I'm worried about the medical history though. I don't know which of you got me pregnant."

Kilik covered his face, a little bashful over the thought. Black Star didn't make it any better after cracking a joke about them 'doing it together'.

Kid slapped Black Star's arm, his smile betraying him.

"Regardless, we should probably cover all the bases so we can catch anything before it starts. And I suppose we'll have to come up with a way to tell our friends. It's not like we can hide it forever."

"Oh, that's right! Did you hear that Tsubaki and Liz are getting married soon?" Black Star piped.

"Oh, how wonderful! Are they planning to have a big wedding? Liz would most certainly like that."

"I think Tsubaki's trying to convince her to just have a small one outdoors."

"It almost makes me a little jealous that we never had any kind of ceremony," Kid added. He had been a little disappointed that they never planned anything even though it was understood to all that they were indeed a bonded triad. But he supposed that was just how it'd be, seeing as there wasn't such a thing as a legal marriage for polyamorous couples.

Still, he was happy enough with what he got.

"They've been living together long enough. I'm surprised they didn't get married a long time ago," Kilik added.

"In any case, we'll need to get something to wear to the wedding. Have they picked their colors?" Kid asked, a touch of excitement in his voice.

"Nah. They haven't even picked a date."

"Oh, still, I can't wait. Weddings are so lovely."

"Maybe we should have one," Black Star suggested.

"I think we should worry about the baby first," Kid said. His face flushed. For some reason, saying it like that felt embarrassing and made him bashful.

"Well, I've got vacation time saved up, so I can come with you for sure," Kilik reassured him.

Black Star huffed, "I might not be able to make it. Boss is complaining that I've missed enough work days as it is. I think he just wants to get the project done quicker since it's almost done."

"It's your work. It's good that you're going even if you have to miss the appointment. You can come to the next one," Kid offered.

"But I wanna see it this time too!" he whined.

Kid smiled. This was going to be a real adventure.

* * *

Kid sat nervously in the ob/gyn waiting room, clutching Kilik's hand with one and chewing on his nails on the other. Kilik did his best to reassure him that everything would be fine, but Kid couldn't shake off all of the worry. He was sure his baby would be healthy, seeing as how all three boys were genuinely healthy and seemed to come from just as healthy families, but he couldn't help but wonder how the nurses or doctor would think of him and his partners.

When the nurse called his name, he felt his heart sink with worry and his stomach flip. He prayed that he wouldn't get sick during the visit.

Kilik stood with him and guided him, switching hand so that he could still keep hold of Kid's and wrap his other arm around his shoulders.

When the nurse brought him into the examination room, he was given a routine physical, checking his height, weight, taking his blood pressure, listening to his breathing, and taking a urine sample and a blood sample. The nurse would take care of the testing while the doctor took care of the rest.

"The doctor will be in shortly," she said, before taking the sample vials and exiting the room.

Kid sighed heavily and Kilik kissed his hand.

When the doctor came in, she greeted them sweetly.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Gaskell. The nurse will test your samples so you should be able to see your results before you leave today."

She shook both of their hands and Kid introduced himself and Kilik.

"So how long have you two been together?" she asked, with a gleam in her eyes. It set Kid at ease only slightly to know that she was genuinely interested in her patients.

"About 6 years, but we're not married…" Kid trailed off.

"Choosing not to or waiting for the little one?"

"Well, we chose not to. We thought it wouldn't be fair to our o-other partner if I married Kilik and not him or vice versa," Kid stuttered slightly.

"Oh! So you're a polyamorous family. Man, your kid's gonna be one lucky bug. So, do you know which of your partners the father is? I'd like to get an accurate medical history so we know which tests would be best for your baby."

"I'm not sure, actually. It uh… wasn't exactly planned."

She laughed, "Hey, no problem! I'll just take down both of their histories and we'll go from there, okay?"

Dr. Gaskell prompted them with questions to get an idea of what they were looking out for and once the boys' histories were taken down, she asked about Kid's.

He dreaded the question, but answered honestly when she asked, "Are there any psychiatric conditions?"

"I have obsessive compulsive personality disorder."

"Whew, that's a tough one. I'm assuming you've been in therapy?"

Kid nodded.

"I haven't been recently since I've improved."

"Well, I'd like to keep your therapist's information on file just in case, and I'd like you to consider going back now that you're dealing with a pregnancy. It'll be tough on you so I want to make sure you have an air tight support network."

He felt completely at ease with her at this point and was glad that the clinic tech had given him her card.

"Alright, now I need to give you a pelvic exam to be sure we cover all the bases and then I'll check on your other tests, okay? I'll try to make this as easy as possible."

He'd had similar examinations before so he knew what to do as she led him through the motions. He kept hold of Kilik's hand the entire time.

When everything was given the all-clear, Dr. Gaskell left the room to check the results and told them she'd come back in a flash to give the ultrasound.

Kid sighed once more, feeling himself relax as he exhaled.

Kilik kissed his hand again, "See? I told you everything would be fine. She's a good doctor."

"Yes, I'm glad we came to her."

It didn't take long for the doctor to come back into the room with the good news that everything was looking great. She set up the machine and asked Kid to lie back once more. She spread the gel on his belly, apologizing as Kid winced at the cold sensation. She felt around, taking a good look at the baby and letting them know everything was looking good. Finding nothing to worry about, she moved the monitor so that the boys could see.

The baby was so tiny with the littlest limbs and tiny fingers. Kid could feel the tears coming on again and he knew he'd be crying a whole lot more through this whole thing. He watched as the baby moved around and felt his heart leap at the realization that the little bean was really inside him. He felt himself looking forward to watching it grow and was actually beside himself with excitement at the thought of bringing the child into the world.

Kid cried for what felt like the millionth time that week and he knew that he'd be crying a whole lot more.


	3. Chapter 3

Kid was woken up in the middle of the night. Not to rush to the bathroom to get sick again, he breathed a sigh of relief. But he was suddenly awake in a quick instant and knew he wouldn't be getting back to sleep. He turned to look at each of his boys. Black Star was drooling, mouth wide open and snoring away on his pillow, and his arm was draped over Kid's chest. Kilik was snoring softly, curled around Kid's side comfortably, holding one of Kid's hands in his loosely.

If he had to be woken up like this regularly, how nice it would be to be just like this, he thought.

He brought his free hand to his belly and gently placed it there with a feather-light touch. He thought about the little thing inside him. He'd read that it was about the size of a plum now, at about 12 weeks. At the last ultrasound just the day before, he remembered Black Star had cried seeing the little bean move around being nudged by the technician's tool. Kid laughed a little to himself. They were both such crybabies, but how could they not be over something like this? Even Kilik had teared up at the sight of the baby moving its little hands and feet and curling its little fingers on the monitor.

He ran his fingers across his belly. He wasn't showing at all yet and he couldn't even feel it move. He felt a little sad that he couldn't. It was hard to believe that it was really in there sometimes.

He felt Black Star shift beside him and pull him closer in his sleep. He smiled. Even in his sleep, the knucklehead was looking out for him.

Kid laid there for a few hours humming a lullaby he heard who-knows-where over and over, running his fingers across his belly until his boys woke up.

"Say, Kid, where'd you hear a song like that? You should sing it more often!" Black Star said in his rough, sleep-heavy voice.

"I didn't even know you could sing," Kilik yawned.

Kid flushed, "W-well, I wasn't really singing… you know…"

"You totally should!" Black Star smiled as big as ever. Kid knew he'd lose this battle.

"I couldn't possibly," he started.

Black Star interrupted him, "Well, I mean, even if you can't sing for us, you could totally sing for the baby."

Kid blinked, letting that statement sink in. Kilik, too, was silent. Both were stunned that Black Star had said something so truly heartwarming despite his lack of tact with words. Kilik simply grinned with love while Kid's face flushed further.

"Ah come on, don't start cryin' about that too."

Kid punched his arm lightly, "Like you have any room to talk."

* * *

While the boys were at work, Kid got an unexpected phone call. He expertly washed and dried his inking equipment before answering his phone on the final ring.

And when he answered, he was greeted with a cheerful, "I thought you'd never pick up!"

"Maka! It's been quite a while since you called, how have you been?" he asked, genuinely delighted despite not liking phone calls.

He could hear her slight chuckle, "I've been good. Soul, Crona and I have been travelling recently. I have so many photos to show you!"

"We'll have to get everyone together then, I'm sure they'd all love to hear as well."

"Hey, that's a great idea! We could have a party," she suggested. "We haven't had one since we all graduated."

"Oh, we have so many things to celebrate, come to think of it. It's been a long time coming, I suppose."

"I can totally help you plan it. Don't think you need to plan everything on your own."

He laughed, "Well, I'll still be planning most of it if we're hosting it here, and I'm assuming we are considering the timing."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Being on the move kind of makes things weird at our place," she laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell the boys, Black Star will be delighted to have you over again."

"Has he been keeping out of trouble? I'm sure you and Kilik have your hands full with him."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. But we can save all the story-telling for the party or we might not have any stories to tell."

Maka laughed heartily, "Sure! We can text about the details and settle a date. We're all open pretty much whenever but I'll find out when everyone else is free. You just make sure to keep your schedule open, okay?"

"Of course," he said.

And with a quick and friendly goodbye, they hung up. Kid promptly messaged his boys to let them know and sent a forewarning to Liz.

It looked like he'd found the perfect opportunity to tell everyone.

* * *

It took only a few days to plan the party. Nothing too extravagant, but a fun get-together for all of their friends. Kid and the boys' house was definitely large enough to accommodate without making any changes, luckily. It was plenty spacious enough. The boys and Soul would be responsible for stocking up on junk food and drinks and Kid would work together with Tsubaki to prepare a nice proper meal for everyone to have beforehand. The plans were ready by the weekend and everyone was more than ready for it.

And naturally, everyone arrived early and crowded around the living room to play games while Kid and Tsubaki prepared the meal, even Crona offered to help. It was tough cooking for so many but the three of them had fun with it. They laughed from the kitchen at the Mario Kart antics going on in the other room.

And when the food was done and the table set, they were met with hoots and hollers as everyone excitedly made their way to the dining room.

"Man, I'm starving! The food looks damn great," Black Star practically drooled.

"We made a lot so feel free to have as much as you like," Tsubaki said serenely. Liz was really blessed to have found someone as sweet as Tsubaki, he thought. They would work well together.

Kid's eyes sparkled as he watched everyone dig in. Patty and Black Star devoured theirs before anyone else had hardly started. Everyone else took a bit more time to savor their meals. He too took his time, but perhaps took a bit too much time. He was a bit hesitant to eat as much as he would have liked for fear of getting sick again. Morning sickness was truly a difficult struggle.

Maka was the first to notice, asking, "Aren't you hungry, Kid? You haven't really eaten much."

"Ah, that's…" he stopped and looked to his boys, who in turn shared a glance with each other and nodded.

Kilik swallowed a bite of his food and cleared his throat, "If you're ready, go ahead."

Kid nodded curtly and stood up, ready to give a proper announcement.

"Well, first, I'd like to say that I'm glad everyone could be here as it's nice to see all of you together again," everyone nodded in agreement and shared smiles. "I'd also like to extend my congratulations to Liz and Tsubaki on their engagement. We're certainly looking forward to the wedding," the girls clasped each other's hands and smiled sweetly. "But," he paused, hesitating only a moment, "I have something I'd like you all to know and I think now is the perfect time to—"

"Hurry up and tell them or I'll do it for you!" Black Star interrupted, practically bouncing out of his seat.

Kid kicked him under the table and cleared his throat.

"I'd like to officially announce that Kilik, Black Star and I are expecting a child."

His boys were beaming at him, but everyone else had frozen.

Seeing that everyone had seemed to stop in time, he added, "And I'd like to add that we're not adopting. I'm pregnant."

Soul dropped his fork.

Maka spoke up, trying to ease the tension, "That's great news! I mean, it's a shock all things considered, but it seems like you guys are really happy about this."

"So… so which of them is the father?" Liz asked, incredulous.

Kid tried to hide his embarrassment but failed, "We… we actually don't… know."

Tsubaki elbowed her fiancé, disbelief clear on her face. Liz shrugged.

Patty stood up, excitement gleaming in her eyes, "I'm gonna be an aunt?! Is it a boy or a girl? You have to tell me!"

"It's too early to tell, yet," Kilik answered.

"How far along are you?" Maka asked genuinely, now that the tension had dissolved.

"About 12 weeks. We shouldn't know the sex for another month or so," Kid added, placing his hand over his belly.

Tusbaki smiled in her usual serene way, "We'll have to throw you a baby shower when you find out!"

Kid had a though in that instance, "Actually… I think I'd like it to be a surprise." He thought it might be nice not to have everything color-coded and forcibly gendered before the baby's even born.

Soul laughed, "That's just like you."

Maka added, "But that's okay! We can just keep it a gender-neutral baby shower. We'll get you gifts for the baby and have a nice party with your dad and everyone else."

"I'd like that," Kid returned their smiles.

Later on, after the party had died down and everyone had said their congratulations and goodbyes and gone home, Kid laid out on the big couch, resting against Kilik's chest as Kilik ran his fingers through Kid's hair. Black Star settled in with them with his head nestled gently against Kid's belly.

"You hear that, little guy? Everyone's excited to meet you already. You're gonna be a big star just like your dad," Black Star said in a low, sweet voice.

"We don't even know which of you is the dad," Kid added.

"Hey, even if Kilik's the genetic dad, it's still my kid too," he corrected.

Kid's heart swelled, "Of course."

"We'll have to think about creating a nursery and decide on names, too, you know," Kilik muttered, half asleep.

"Oh, that'll be fun! We had so much fun decorating the house. Imagine all the clever things we could do with the baby's room."

"We could totally paint a bunch of stars on the walls and stuff!"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Kid laughed.

"Are you saying my ideas are usually bad?" Black Star poked at his sides.

Kid laughed and protested, moving back against Kilik to get away from the offending tickles, making him groan and lean back pitifully as Kid accidentally assaulted him. Both Kid and Black Star apologized softly and Kilik suggested settling into bed.

Night time rituals completed, the three boys settled in, cuddling up to each other with Kid snugly fit in the middle. Each of his boys had one hand resting on Kid's belly, lazily lacing a few of their fingers together. It was such a calm and loving moment each night before falling into sleep. Kid relished every bit of it. Waking up in the mornings was easy for all of them after falling asleep gently to a moment like that.

And as they were slowly falling into that dreamy state, Kilik suggested, in his low, sleepy voice, "Tomorrow, let's go window shopping for baby stuff. Then we can decide how to decorate the baby's room."

The three of them drifted off sweetly. Kid's final thoughts before sleep were of tiny baby hands and a beautiful nursery that he and his boys put together themselves, putting as much love into it as they could. Oh, how he couldn't wait to get started.


	4. Chapter 4

Kid didn't even know stores like this existed. Everything was pastel and spring colors, padded and soft. The entire store had a gentle and, dare he say it, maternal air to it. Kilik had taken them to a baby-specialty store, some branch of a toy store or something. He was completely flabbergasted. Where would they even begin?

"Why don't we look at some of the models? Try them on for size," Kilik suggested.

"There are models? Of nurseries?"

Kilik nodded, took his hand and led him through the store to the set ups. If Kid didn't know any better, he'd think Kilik had done this before. Kid looked around at the different set ups and there were so many, it nearly sent his head spinning.

One in particular caught his eye. It was decorated with neutralized blue color and dark wood furniture. He sat in the gliding nursery chair and imagined himself holding his future child, rocking gently to soothe the fussy baby to sleep. He also ran his hands over the wood of the crib, imagining watching the baby sleep soundly, protected by the padded wooden slats, a lullaby playing from a stereo nearby.

His boys approached him and wrapped their arms around him. That was all he needed to decide.

"Can we reserve this set?"

They explored more of the store, looking at tiny onesies and the smallest socks, picking up toys and bottles to examine. There was so much to see and so much that Kid didn't know. He was hesitant through the entire visit, unsure what to look at and unsure of what they would need.

They'd decided to open a registry at the store at a later date, choosing to wait until Kid was further along in his pregnancy.

But of course, just before leaving, Black Star was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"Where could he have gone? We looked at everything here already," Kid thought aloud.

Kilik spotted him, "Over there."

When Black Star saw them, he ran over with something in his hands. He looked absolutely ecstatic while simultaneous looking on the verge of tears. He raised his hands to their faces and excitedly showed them the item he held, the smallest pair of sneakers. Each shoe could fit easily into the palm of their hands, and they were each adorned with a small star on the side.

"Look! They're so cute and small and they even have stars on them," Black Star practically cried. There were actually tears budding in his eyes.

Kid laughed, "Well, if you like them so much, maybe we should buy them."

"You mean it?! Ah, man, our kid's gonna love these."

As they paid for the tiny shoes, the lady at the register asked, "Buying a gift?"

They all exchanged a sweet look and Kid answered, "Something like that."

* * *

The ride home was spent almost entirely in a comfortable silence, tiny shoes placed almost like a trophy on the dashboard. Kid rode with his hands laced over his belly. He was content to stay like that until his phone rang.

When he answered, he heard Maka's chipper voice, "Hey, are you guys home? I thought I'd stop by."

"We just out, actually, but we'll be home in about ten minutes," he answered.

"Awesome! I'll meet you guys there. I have something for you."

She said a quick 'see you later' and hung up before Kid could say anything more. He stared at his phone curiously, wondering what she could possibly be bringing them considering that the baby shower date hadn't even been decided. Surely she wouldn't have any gifts for them until then.

When they arrived home, they found Maka waiting on the porch swing.

"Have you waited long?"

"Nope," she smiled, "I just got here."

"Why don't you come in for some tea?" Kilik offered.

"That's alright. I just wanted to come by and drop these off," she held out a handful of books to Kid. "I thought these books would be helpful so I grabbed them from the bookstore while I was there."

He examined the titles. Pregnancy health, infant care, co-parenting, and a pocket sized book of names. The thought made Kid smile warmly, his eyes twinkling. He thanked her honestly but she shook her head.

"There's no need to thank me. I hope those help," she then waved and left with a sweet goodbye.

Black Star laughed loudly, "That's just like Maka to give books as a present!"

"Isn't it? Though it was sweet of her. I think these may just be what I needed."

* * *

At the last ultrasound, which Kid had gone to by himself since both of his boys couldn't avoid having to go to work, Kid had gone through the usual preventative diagnostics and measurements to see how the baby was growing. Dr. Gaskell marveled at how he was hardly showing at all and asked him how things were going. In particular, he noted that she seemed especially curious if he had felt the baby moved and, to Kid's dismay and maybe even to hers, he reported that he had not. She had waited until everything else had been taken care of before performing one last thing, hoping it might give Kid a little boost.

"So, how about we set up the ultrasound? We didn't catch it last time, but I'm sure this time we'll be able to hear the baby's heartbeat."

Kid's eyes lit up.

When the machine was set up and Kid's belly prepped with the gel, she felt around with the tool. The feeling of the tool prodding his abdomen was beginning to feel familiar to him. This time, however, she was able to pick up the heartbeat using the tool she had explained as a fetal Doppler.

"Hey, listen to that!" she piped when they heard the sound. "These past few weeks, your baby's heart has been beating steadily. How's it feel to be able to hear it, Papa?"

She knew he was cyring before she turned around. Dr. Gaskell liked to make jokes about all the tears she saw between the three of them, even joking that they'd probably cry more than the baby when it finally arrives.

Kid couldn't even respond to her question through his tears.

"Touching isn't it?" she asked, he nodded. "Well, you're entering your second trimester. Before long it'll be halfway over and then this little guy will be here before you know it."

During the ultrasound, the doctor was able to catch a snapshot of the baby sucking its thumb and printed it out for Kid without his asking. She knew he'd wanted it, as he usually requested the ultrasound photos at each visit. Maybe it was a little too sentimental, but he wanted to keep all of those little milestones documented, maybe not even for himself but for the baby when it grows up.

He held the photo delicately and made sure it was in a safe place on the way home. At each ultrasound, he would put up the new photo on the fridge until the next one and take down the previous one to put into a photobook that had all of the developments, measurements and milestones the doctor told him as a caption beneath it.

He was practically bouncing out of seat to meet the boys at the door when they came home so that he could tell them the news. He'd heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Kilik had beamed with the biggest and most beautiful smile Kid had seen and hugged him tightly. Black Star had excitedly whooped and picked Kid up in a tight embrace, spinning him around before placing him back down gently.

Everyone spent the rest of the night riding on an ecstatic high of good feelings and love.

* * *

Of course, Kid knew the entire ride wasn't going to be easy. He knew that from the first time his breasts felt too tender and sore to wear his binder as usual. And today was not an easy day for him. He felt tired and low after being sick several times that morning, not quite over the morning sickness yet. Dr. Gaskell had reassured him that it should be going away sooner or later and that it wasn't uncommon to still have a few rounds of vomiting this early on. Still, it made him feel awful. He'd laid around the house instead of doing work, feeling too awful to do anything productive. He spent most of the day either watching reruns of bad TV or sleeping.

He didn't get up unless he was making an attempt to eat something or to shower, as he currently was. He tried to settle his mind and let the warm water soothe him. It certainly helped wash away some of the sickness and tiredness. He wrapped himself with a warm, fluffy towel after and went to the bedroom to get clean clothes, realizing he'd forgotten.

Instead, however, he stopped in front of the standing mirror and stared into his reflection. He didn't really seem any different, he thought. Letting the towel slowly slip down his frame, he examine every part of himself closely. His gaze travelled down from the bridge of slender nose down to the curve of his collar bones, slipping down the slopes of his chest and finally, settling on his stomach as the towel dropped to the floor. His eyes lingered there as he pressed a hand gently into his belly. He turned to examine himself from the side. It was very apparent, but he could detect the beginnings of a bump, ever so slight but there.

He ghosted his fingers over the little bump. He thought about how his belly would grow bigger and bigger as time went on. Again, he examined himself in the mirror. He wasn't sure he was truly prepared for it. He eyed the inward curve of his waist and the dip of his hips, nervously watched his chest move with his breathing and bit his lip at the thought of how his breasts would swell. Why had he really thought he could go through with it when he could hardly stand the site of his own body sometimes? Often he felt like his body wasn't even his own when he couldn't shake off the negative thoughts about those ever present feminine aspects.

He almost choked on tears. He couldn't stop them this time. He openly cried. It was pitiful, even he knew that. He was gross. Everything about him was. His body was gross, his crying too. He was terrible and obsessive. Everything needed to be perfect for him. How could his boys ever love him like that? How could his baby love him like that? If he wasn't perfect, why would they love him?

They wouldn't. They would just leave him, wouldn't they? They'd realize eventually how awful he was and leave him all alone, wouldn't they?

He tried to look at himself but he couldn't see through all the tears and snot. He was hiccupping now too. How disgusting he must look right now. He tried to clean his face with his hands, completely forgetting about the towel on the ground despite having slipped down to the floor with it.

He just cried pitifully until he heard the front door open. He knew it was Black Star since he always got home first when they both had work. His sobbing stopped abruptly, though the hiccups did not. He hurriedly tried to wipe away the evidence. Oh, he knew it would be obvious he'd been crying, but really, what would Black Star think of him crying so grossly on the bedroom floor in front of a mirror? Truly, how gross he must be right now.

Kid flinched when the bedroom door opened. He hadn't even heard Black Star calling for him, increasingly concerned.

Seeing him there, Black Star immediately rushed to him, pulling him to himself and loudly asking, "Kid, what the hell? What happened, are you okay?!"

Kid tried to shake himself from Black Star's grasp, attempting to curl in on himself.

"D-don't look," he cried. He did his best to keep Black Star from looking at his face or his body.

But Black Star knew what was happening. He grabbed Kid's wrists and held them away from his body so that he could quickly move in and grab Kid's face, forcing the boy to look at him fully. It had shocked Kid so much that he couldn't turn his eyes away.

"I love you," Black Star exclaimed. "I love you, Kid. I love you. And I'm always gonna love you no matter what. I don't care if you cry or hate me or what. To me, you're perfect. Absolutely perfect, you hear?! And I wouldn't have you any other way, and neither would Kilik! We both love you. We both love you so much."

Black Star pulled Kid against him, pulling the discarded towel up as well and wrapped it around the shivering boy. He pulled him into a tight embrace and whispered into the crown of his head, "We all love you. All three of us."

Kid began crying fully again, sobbing outright, tears and snot coating his face. This time, he didn't care if it was gross. He just wanted to cry. And this time, he knew Black Star would stay there with him. He eventually tired himself out and fell asleep clutching his lover. Black Star hoisted him up as carefully as he could, afraid to wake him, and carried him to the bed, depositing him and climbing in after. He resolved not to move until Kid woke up.

And when Kilik came home, he too knew what had happened and climbed in wordlessly with them. They all knew it would be tough, but none of them were going to give up.

They were a family, truly.


	5. Chapter 5

They'd all been up early again, having gone to bed much sooner than usual after Kid's sudden meltdown. He was still shaken and feeling sick because of it. He'd refused his breakfast and instead took to cleaning up after Kilik's cooking. The boys made simple conversation as if it were any morning but both kept an eye on Kid.

In the past, Kid had a much harder time of dealing with his compulsions and personality disorder, even now that he'd done better he still needed a gentle reminder once in a while. He struggled with perfection. Everything needed to be cleaned, straightened and in perfect order. He felt physically ill when there were messes around the house and dishes or trash accumulating. It gave him insufferable headaches to see his bookcases unorganized. It took years of effort and support from his boys and their friends to get to where he was and he'd been proud of himself for getting this far.

He scrubbed at the dishes almost furiously, thinking that relapses were bound to happen. His therapist had prepared him for the idea of it and at the time, he surely thought he could handle it, but he had been wrong. Nothing could have prepared him for what a relapse truly felt like. It's as if he'd been climbing a treacherous slope these past years only to miss his grip once and fall down what felt like farther than he'd been at the start.

It made him feel like crying again. He'd done so much and gotten so much better and suddenly he's back to cleaning obsessively because he felt weird about his body and had a panic attack once, but why won't this stain come off?

And suddenly the plate slipped from his fingers and splashed pathetically into the soapy water. He sighed and picked up the dirty pan to scrub it clean.

Kid was so focused on aggressively cleaning the dishes that he didn't notice the silence behind him or the meaningful shared glances Kilik and Black Star shared. They had both been biding their time to figure out how best to approach the situation, knowing that it would be hard for Kid and wanting to be sure that anything they did would be the best possible thing to do for him. This time, Kilik left it to Black Star, knowing from the determination in his eyes that he knew exactly what to do.

He cleared his spot at the table, placed his keys by his lunchbox, and after grabbing his jacket, gave Black Star a sweet kiss and a gentle fist bump to his forehead and gave Kid a slow, love-filled kiss goodbye to the cheek. Kid halted at his touch without his realizing.

Black Star watched him in silence for a few more minutes until he heard the splash of Kid dropping another dish. He heard Kid getting frustrated as he got up, grabbing a hand towel on his way over. Black Star nestled himself gently against Kid's back, placing his chin on his shoulder. Kid bit his lip in an effort not to cry as Black Star brought his soapy hands up and slowly and delicately dried his hands.

Shakily, Kid said, "Why can't anything ever be perfect?"

Black Star held his hands firmly in his own and said, "You know, Tsubaki was telling me about this thing in Japan, where they would repair things like broken cups and bowls, y'know, like the kind of thing you could just buy new stuff to replace. They'd fix the cracks by filling them in with gold and stuff because the breaks are part of its history. The idea is supposed to be like those things like the cracks and the history are more important and, like, that's why we love them instead of the new 'perfect' ones."

Still keeping firm hold of his hands, caressing Kid's ring, Black Star nestled his face into Kid's neck and continued, "It made me think of you, Kid. Because, even though you were so obsessed with everything being perfect when we met, all of those little imperfections made me love you. And now, even though you were so beautiful then," he felt Kid's breath hitch, "it's like you're even more beautiful now, full of cracks that me and Kilik filled in with gold. You're not perfect. Neither am I or Kilik or anybody. But we think you're perfect _because_ you're not perfect."

Kid had only enough time to turn around to embrace Black Star before he started crying. He stood there crying loudly, hugging Black Star as tight as he could.

"I love you so much," Kid cried.

Black Star held him there for a while, rubbing his back but not saying anything until he was sure Kid was alright.

He put it off as long as he could, but eventually Black Star had to leave for work. Kid made sure he didn't forget anything and bade him goodbye on the porch. Feeling a little exposed standing on the bottom step of the front porch in his nightclothes, he shared a series of reassuring slow kisses with Black Star and waved him off while wishing he could stay.

He sat on the padded porch swing, simply enjoying the sweet morning air for a bit. He tried not to be bothered when Titan decided to join him and nosed his head onto Kid's lap. He looked at Kid with his overgrown puppy eyes and gave a few soft whines.

"Oh, how could I ever say no to that face?" he said as he ruffled Titan's floppy ears and back.

Titan panted happily and thumped his tail against the wooden porch. Kid continued to pet the large pup until he heard a very loud and very grumpy meowing from the window beside him. Reaper was sitting in the window, rubbing his head against the pane and meowing quite loudly in an attempt to get Kid's attention.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kitten! I must have forgotten to put your food out," he looked down at Titan and sighed. "Too bad, big guy. I have to go tend to his highness."

He gave the dog a final ruffle on the head, to which he replied with a soft bark. Kid almost let him in the house after being so sweet but was nervous to do so without at least one of the boys home. He wasn't very confident around dogs and wasn't sure he'd be able to keep the big guy out of trouble, seeing how he's a mostly outside dog and tended to forget that inside has different rules. Meanwhile, Reaper the cat had total reign of the house regardless of what the boys had to say about it. When they'd first moved in, Reaper, then an intact cat who'd had an abundance of room to run and jump as he pleased, was now confined to a much smaller space and began to have some behavioral problems. Kid had since learned how to handle the cat, getting him fixed as was recommended and gave him plenty of climbing shelves and poles with plenty of toys and interesting views to keep him occupied when the boys didn't have him chasing after a laser or a feather.

Kid probably spoiled the cat a bit too much, giving him expensive food, the nicest toys, a cat fountain, his own little garden of cat-friendly houseplants and even a special harness and sweaters to wear so that the little black cat could enjoy the park just as much as his much larger friend. A bit much, maybe, but Kid enjoying spoiling his little prince. He set the food down on a dish and finished cleaning up the kitchen. Once everything was taken care of here, he set about his work as usual until he decided he needed a break. This time, he chose a book and the delightfully comfortable window seat so that he could have the warmth of the filtered sunlight as he read.

Of course, it didn't take long for Reaper to decide to join him and take over his chest, effectively cutting him off from his book. Kid resigned himself to his fate and adjusted the pillow behind him and reclined. The cat simply made a slightly grumpy "mrrrp" and settling himself again, nestling between Kid's chest and the slight bump of his stomach. Purring, the cat drifted into an easy snooze and Kid soon followed.

* * *

It didn't take long for the next couple of ultrasounds and wellness checks to arrive, and now Kid and his boys were comfortably sandwiched into a corner of the clinic. Kid was looking through the baby name book that Maka had gifted him for the third time that day while Kilik was trying not to laugh and failing as he lightly slapped Black Star for his hilarious attempts at recreating the model photos in the glamour magazines left in the waiting room.

Black Star had been trying to snag Kid's attention before his next performance when Dr. Gaskell came into the room.

"Hey! The gang's all here. You guys can come on back with Kid and we'll get you set up."

She was quick to get the icky stuff done first and she did well on it since she loved to save the best for last. As she was taking the measurements during the ultrasound and recording everything in Kid's file, she made conversation.

"That bump's finally getting somewhere, huh?"

"Yes, it's still so strange to me. Sometimes it still feels so unreal."

She chuckled, "Well, you're definitely getting on. Pretty soon you'll be able to feel the little bean movin' about. And you're probably gonna outgrow those nice button-downs, sadly."

Kid audibly gasped at the thought. He had honestly not thought about clothing. What _would_ he do once his belly really started to grow?

Dr. Gaskell laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Kiddo! You'll figure something out, I know you're crafty enough to do it. And good news, everything looks good and you and your baby are measuring just right. Would you like to know the sex?"

Black Sar jumped up as Kid tried fruitlessly to silence him as he cried, "Yes!"

"No! No, no sex!" Kid chanted after.

"Aw, but Kid, I gotta know!"

"Hush, no you don't. No sex!"

"So you want it to be a surprise? Trying to make a statement?" she asked.

Kid sighed, "I don't want it to be all about whether the baby is a boy or girl. That takes all the magic out of it. Having everything to black and white for my child before they're even born sounds dreadful, don't you think?"

She smiled, "An open world fosters an open mind. I like your style."

Black Star pleaded with his hands folded, "Aw, come on, can't you just tell me? Or Kilik? I won't tell Kid, I promise."

"No, you won't," Kilik countered. "You'd jump for joy and holler it to the whole world once you find out."

Dr. Gaskell laughed again as she printed off the ultrasound photos for them and handed them over, giving Kid a quick hug and a handshake to both of the boys. She patted Kid's back as she led them to the door and added, "You're also in exceptional health and now that you're at least 16 weeks, your chance of miscarriage has dropped phenomenally. So I'd get to workin' on that baby registry and start reaping the benefits early if I were you."

She gave them a wink and waved them off. She so enjoyed the bunch coming by. They really livened things up, she thought.

As they were heading to the car, Kilik offered, "Sounds like we can go ahead and start working on that nursery. Why not head to the store and pay off that furniture set and start a registry?"

"Oh, but we haven't even decided on which room would be the baby's room yet."

"Well, now that Patty and Liz moved in with Tsubaki we don't really need as many guest bedrooms as we do. We can renovate at least one of them for the kid," Black Star noted.

"Do you think we should sell the old furniture, then?" Kid asked.

Kilik hummed, "Why not donate it? We've got plenty of money as it is, I figure we could probably help someone out by donating it more than selling it."

"Oh, what a nice idea. I'm sure Black Star's boss would be willing to help us move it all too, given the situation," Kid said, running his hand bashfully down his growing bump.

"He even offered to help us bring in the baby's stuff too. Judging by the time, he can be up there by the time we pay it off," Black Star said, already making the call.

Kid was ever so thankful that Black Star had found work with someone so genuinely nice to be around. Meeting the man for the first time, he felt a little uneasy at the man's gruff personality but he turned out to be an incredible blessing in their lives.

When they arrived at the store, Black Star offered to stay out by the car and wait for his boss to arrive while Kid and Kilik go inside to pay off the reserved furniture set and start a registry. Black Star gave them the ETA and a little warning that they had time to shop around so they decided to do just that. Kilik kept a lazy but loving arm about Kid's waist for the duration.

"Let's check out the necessities first," Kid offered.

"Well, we've got the crib, a changing table, dresser and a rocker with the set. But we'll need to get the bedding separate since it only comes with a mattress."

"Oh, but we haven't decided on a theme," Kid almost deflated.

Kilik raised an eyebrow, "You actually want a theme?"

"Nothing boys versus girls. Something adventurous or imaginative," he huffed in response.

"Why not go with Black Star's idea? I think a star themed thing would be cute. Like, moon and stars on the wall and nice neutral blues instead of the weird pastel blue everyone seems to like," Kilik paused and picked up a tiny plush rocket ship and put it in Kid's hand. "It can anything the kid wants it to be, a starry hill at night or a spaceship ride. Adventurous and imaginative. We can even paint constellations on the ceiling."

Kid gasped with pure delight and jumped up to kiss Kilik excitedly on the lips, "You're brilliant! That's exactly what we should do."

"We should also probably look at car seats and strollers."

By the time Black Star finally let them know that they were ready to pick up the furniture set, Kilik and Kid had built quite the list already that they would almost surely expand on later. Kid was buzzing with excitement by the time they finished at the service desk and went down to the loading area with the store representative.

They were greeted with loud laughter at the back of Joe Buttataki's truck.

"Joe! It's so good to see you. How are you?" Kid greeted him wholesomely. "I really can't thank you enough for helping us get all this home."

"No need to thank me!" he laughed. "And I'm doing well, thank you. Black Star's my best worker and I consider the kid a friend so I'm glad to help you out."

"Surely we can do something for you in return," Kid pressed. "Perhaps you could come in for a cup of coffee? We have quite a high quality selection at the house."

Joe's eyes twinkled and he kindly accepted the offer adding, "Of course. Black Star's practically family and I'm a pretty close friend of your father too, Kid. Don't hesitate to call if you need me."

Kid smiled with a precious warmth from the bottom of his hear, "Thank you."

"Now let's get this stuff home, shall we?"

* * *

It didn't take long at all to get all of the boxed up furniture in the house. Joe and the boys had forbidden Kid from helping at all aside from holding doors open and keeping Titan and Reaper out of the way. He tried to ignore the useless feelings since he knew it would probably be bad for him and the baby to get involved in all the heavy lifting. Of course, the three of them got the work done quickly, completely unsurprising to any of them considering this was the kind of work Joe and Black Star did.

What took longer was deconstructing and bringing all of the old furniture out of the former guest bedroom to take down to the truck. Joe offered to take it down to the donation store for them and they'd graciously accepted, but refused to allow him to leave without staying for dinner and some expertly made coffee. Kid and Kilik made double sure to make the best of the best, knowing Joe's tastes and eager to please.

When Joe had taken his leave, the boys made their way to the room now empty save for the boxed up furniture.

"Since the weekend is about to start, we can probably go ahead and buy the paint and get started," Kid noted, a sweet smile on his face.

Black Star laughed, "Sounds like you're excited to decorate. It's not like we need to rush it. I mean, we've got a ton of time."

"Well, I'm sure that time's gonna fly before we know it," Kilik added thoughtfully. "Sooner we get everything take care of, the better probably."

"And of course I'm excited about it. It'll be fun to decorate the baby's room," Kid sighed.

"Alright then! This weekend we'll go and buy the paints and get started," Black Star said, pumping his fist in the air.

Kid wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep that night, he was so excited at the prospect. He could already imagine the beautiful neutral blues and vinyl star stickers, constellations on the ceiling. It would be beautiful when completed, he thought, and he was sure their baby would come to love it as they grew older. The thought filled him with a lovely warmth.

He fell asleep with both his boys holding him sweetly, his own hand nestled lovingly over his growing bump.


	6. Chapter 6

In the weeks following the furniture moving venture, the three of them worked together to paint the room, although Kid did a majority of the decorative paint work having more illustrative experience then the other two. And when the room had been painted with a beautiful array of stars in a configuration that worked for the mental model Kid had of what the room would like, Kilik and Black Star began setting up the furniture itself. Kid had begged to help on the logic that he'd feel bad if they did all the work, but the boys refused and promptly set up the gliding rocking chair that became Kid's perch to watch the boys work and pout.

Of course, he didn't make too much of a fuss about it. It was nice to see his boys working hard on something they found enjoyable. Nothing could compare to seeing the joy and fun they were having, even if it was over something like building furniture. Kid sighed contentedly and watched them futz around with the parts of the crib, trying to sort out what went where before putting anything together.

But it didn't take long for something to drag Kid out of his happy thoughts, as things usually do. He'd been feeling strange little pangs, nothing to be concerned over of course. Earlier he thought it was probably just gas or something otherwise ordinary, but suddenly he thought it felt a little different. He placed his hand over his belly and his brow knitted over the confusion. His belly had been growing quite a bit more and it was becoming more outwardly apparent that he was pregnant. His pregnancy was already about halfway over, so it could be… Could it, he wondered.

Black Star and Kilik had noticed his troubled look by that point and turned to look at him.

"Something wrong, Kiddo?" Black Star asked.

Kid sat up slowly and uncertainly said, "I think… I think I just felt the baby move."

Kilik stared at him in silent shock, but Black Star leapt up with excited hoots and hollers.

"I wanna feel it too!" he exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

Kid sighed with a smile, "I don't think you can feel it from the outside yet. But I think I can feel the baby moving in there."

Black Star smiled at the serene look on Kid's face. He was definitely disappointed that he wouldn't get to feel the baby kick just yet, but he was overjoyed that Kid could none the less. He cupped Kid's face and pulled him in for a big, sweet kiss before getting back up and jumping back over to Kilik, who he also gave an excited kiss to.

"When we can finally feel him kick too, I'm gonna be the first to feel it!" he loudly declared as he and Kilik began working on putting together the crib.

"Why do you get to feel it first? What about me?" Kilik asked jokingly.

"You can feel him kick after me," Black Star said simply.

Kilik huffed, "Hey! I hope he kicks you in the face then."

Black Star was about to bite back but Kid cut him off by asking, "He? So are you two hoping for a boy, then?"

"Of course!" Black Star shouted. "It'd be fun to have a boy. I can teach him all kinds of stuff and show him how to be a real badass when he grows up. I mean, with a father like me around, we're gonna have the coolest kid ever."

"Oh please, you're more likely to get him in trouble," Kilik countered.

"So then, what about you Kilik? Do you want a boy or a girl?" Kid asked.

Kilik thought for a moment, "I don't think I really have a preference. Having a boy would probably be easier, I think. Since Black Star and I might have a better idea of how to keep a little boy entertained. But having a girl might also be easier since little girls tend to be a little less wild than little boys. Besides, can you imagine having a miniature Black Star running around too?"

Kid laughed loudly while Black Star stared Kilik down with an offended look.

"Now just what's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Kilik feigned innocence and held his hands up in surrender, but Black Star still decided to playfully tackle him and instigate a wrestling match on the floor that ended with Black Star being flipped and pinned beneath Kilik.

Kid wolf-whistled from his view on the chair. He chuckled, "Don't have too much fun without me, now."

* * *

Halfway over already. Time really had flown by and it would probably fly by even faster, Kid mused. Soon, he'd be having the baby shower with all of his friends and families and then Liz and Tsubaki's wedding. Before he knew it, he'd be having the baby too. He was excited for all the things to come, for sure, but it was hard not to be a little nervous about all the things happening so fast. Slow down, he thought. Christmas was coming up soon, he should focus on that. The shower wasn't for another couple of months and Liz and Tsubaki's wedding a month after that. He had to stop himself from fretting over what he would wear, knowing that he'd have a harder time of his wardrobe that far into his pregnancy.

To keep his mind off of things and to make an honest effort of keeping his neuroses in check, Kid decided to plan a nice family Christmas with his boys and their families. They would make a big dinner and make extra room in the living room so everyone could enjoy their meal together with those cheesy holiday movies on the television. He thought it might be nice to decorate, maybe even stuff the boys into ridiculous Christmas sweaters. He laughed to himself at the thought.

He had to wait until the weekend to get the decorations since he couldn't drive himself, but he wasted no time in getting them up. Kilik and Black Star set up the tree, a real tree that Black Star had gotten after work to surprise Kid with. He loved the smell of real evergreens. It brought him comfort when he was in the room. They all decorated it together with tinsel and elegant ornaments that they'd collected. The boys hung lights where Kid decided he wanted them since he couldn't hang them up himself or help with most of it. They put stockings up on the fireplace, one for each of them and a very adorable and very small one for the baby.

They never really got gifts for one another at Christmas, instead choosing to give spur of the moment gifts throughout the year. It felt more special and endearing to them to do so and it made the holiday season much easier since they didn't have to worry about last minute gift shopping or beating others to sales to snag the perfect gift. Instead, they put their effort into a big, lovely meal to share with others. Kid thought it made a much nicer tradition and he was more excited for it than usual since it was the rare moment for all of their families to be together. They all wanted to wait to make the pregnancy announcement until they could face their families in person. Kid counted his lucky stars that the times intersected so well for them. He was about halfway through his pregnancy around a time when he knew all of their families would be there.

And the day of the party arrived before Kid had any time to think about it. He and Kilik spent the whole day cooking, making sure everything would be as delicious as possible. They made an entire turkey and ham, all the dressings and the best side dishes to go with them. They had healthy appetizers and even made wonderfully creative Christmas themed desserts for everyone to enjoy. Kid had wanted to pull out all of the stops, and they did just that.

He was excited to see everyone again. He hadn't seen Black Star's adoptive parents since they moved in and he hadn't seen his own father since the last year's holidays. His heart felt warm when he thought of how much love there would be in this holiday once everyone had a moment to absorb the news he would give them.

And when everyone arrived, there were hugs all around and well wishes to be had. Then, when all of the evening's dishes had been set out for everyone to enjoy, Kid made his announcement with his boys at his side. Very predictably, they were met with a stunned silence for a moment, with the exception of Nygus who had noticed his baby bump, though she didn't say anything, that was mostly hidden beneath a comfortable sweater. The silence was broken by Kid's father, who laughed with joy and exclaimed how wonderful it was. Sid and Nygus followed with a polite and slightly quieter congratulations, along with Kilik's parents.

The party continued with a very cozy mood as everyone enjoyed their meals over lovely conversation, and ended rather late. Kid was beginning to worry he'd nod off before saying goodbye to everyone, but, taking not of the time, Nygus made the gentle suggestion that they should take their leave. There were many long hugs and tight but polite handshakes as everyone made their way out, and as the door closed behind the last guest, all three boys sighed collectively and shared a satisfied look before cleaning up and heading to bed.

* * *

As New Years' passed and January was well on its way, Kid's belly was finally beginning to wear out his shirts. He was trying to put off buying new clothes to fit his growing belly, not too particularly fond of the idea of wearing maternity clothes. But today he was faced with the inevitable when he finally tore one of his shirts at the seam trying to get it on. He wanted to cry but only let out a shaky breath as he held the torn shirt in his hands.

He heard Black Star's excited gasp behind him and didn't even have time to ask when Black Star grabbed the shirt. He tried his best to get the shirt on without ripping it even further, which proved an interesting challenge to get the too-small shirt over his rather large muscle mass for his relatively small frame. He somehow succeeded and ran into the living room, Kid following with only mild concern over what he was about to do.

"Kilik! Kilik ask me what my secret is," Black Star commanded with a too-excited look on his face.

Kilik raised an eyebrow but asked anyways, "What's your secret?"

"I'm always angry," he said in a serious voice and flexed his upper body as much as he could, ripping the shirt further at just about every seam.

Kilik tried to suppress his laughter but failed and dissolved into loud guffaws. Kid stared at Black Star in disbelief.

"I could have just sewn that up, you know."

"And miss the chance to do this?! Come on, Kid, I thought you knew me better."

Kid only huffed and pouted in response but nudged his boys off to finish preparing for work. After they had left, he dug around in his closet and wardrobe, attempting to find something that would comfortably fit over his belly but, finding nothing, he gave up and instead searched for one of Black Star's shirts. He spent most of the day lounging around rather than working on a new illustration, the ideas just weren't there and he wasn't currently working on any projects. So instead he made a comfortable space on the window seat and grabbed a book he hadn't finished reading yet. Reaper curled up on his lap and purred away through the quiet.

He'd been halfway through the next chapter when he felt the baby moving, noticing the fluttery feeling despite being so focused on the words. He placed his hand over the place where he felt the little movements and was excitedly surprised when he felt the movement against his hand. His heart pounded, he was so overjoyed at it. He lifted the shirt up and sweetly spoke encouragement to the baby, hoping to see more of the tiny squirming. As his heart beat elatedly in his chest, he felt the baby move once more and noticed the slightly moving bump on his belly.

He was so thrilled that he immediately called his boys, Kilik first and then Black Star as the latter may not be able to answer immediately, to tell them that he could actually _see_ the baby's movement and that they would be able to finally feel the baby kick too. Kilik's excitement was gentle and sweet, telling Kid that he couldn't wait to feel it when he got home. Black Star's, however, was his usually loud enthusiasm, and begging to be the first one to feel it. Kid was beside himself waiting for them to get home that night. He couldn't even focus on the book anymore and instead spent the rest of the day talking to the baby.

When his boys got home, he practically dragged them inside to the cozy nest he had made for himself in the living room, moving the coffee table closer to the tv and opening space in front of the u-couch. Earlier, he'd piled all of the pillows and blankets in the house in a plush pile so that he could watch television as he spent the day talking to the baby. He took the spot he'd claimed earlier, leaving space on each side of himself for his boys and patted the spots. They took their places, nestling themselves next to Kid and getting themselves ready and excited to feel the baby move for the first time.

And very predictably, they cried when they felt it and Kid cried with them

* * *

February came quickly and with it came Liz and Tsubaki's wedding. Kid was fretting over what he would wear with the challenge of a 26 week pregnant belly, but Liz reassured that he could wear whatever he wanted as they wanted to have a nice, casual wedding at a gazebo rented at the park around midday and reservations at a restaurant for the group after. Kid resigned himself to wear a pair of comfortable sweat pants and one of Kilik's t-shirts and spent the time helping Liz get ready with Patty while Black Star went with Maka to help Tsubaki.

"Even though it's just a sundress, it looks exceptionally amazing on you today," Kid told her.

She sighed, "I know I shouldn't be, but I'm nervous."

"I agree that you shouldn't be, you've been waiting for this for a while."

"And you look beautiful, sis. You even got your hair and nails done for this," Patty commented with a smile.

"And I'm sure Tsubaki's just as nervous as you are, if not more so. Everything will go without a hitch, I promise you," Kid reassured her.

"You'll take lots of good pictures, right?"

"Of course we will! I'm certain there's going to be at least three cameras out there besides the photographer, including mine," he put his hands on his hips. "Honestly, did you really think I'd forget to put such an important event in my scrapbook? I want the baby to be able to see it one day."

"Oh, you're gonna make me cry before the wedding even starts, Kid. I'm so excited to be an aunt! I'm gonna have the cutest little niece," she sighed.

He rolled his eyes inwardly at the niece comment, but he knew it would happen. Liz was dying for him to have a girl so that she would have an excuse to buy her the most adorable things she could find.

But the time for the girls to walk out came, so Kid made his way out to the other guests and waited while the music started. The girls were led out at the same time, Tsubaki by Black Star and Liz by Patty, and gracefully walked down the aisle made by the rows of people. Kid did his best not to cry, promising Liz that he wouldn't so she wouldn't cry. He was so touched at how absolutely angelic they looked.

Kid made sure to snap every moment, so much so he was sure the memory card on his camera would be full by the end of the night. He broke his promise not to cry when they shared their binding kiss and was pleasantly surprised when he caught one of the bouquets while Patty caught the other. He even decided to keep it even though he could only really keep a few of the flowers. He was glad they went with real flowers since he could press them and keep them in his scrapbook. It made the moment even more magical, he thought.

He couldn't wait to show these moments to the baby when they grew up.


	7. Chapter 7

Although Kid had wanted to plan his own baby shower, he was absolutely thrilled that it was finally happening. The girls had planned it for him, and he was sure it was going to be nothing short of completely wonderful. It was to be held at their house, as most of their events and get-togethers were, so Kilik and Black Star had the task of keeping Kid out of the house until the party was set up. Though, with Kid being as impatient as he currently was, it proved to be a bit of a challenge.

They'd gone out for ice cream and for a long walk at the park, but the whole time Kid had been distracted and antsy. The boys did their best to prevent Kid from even asking about the shower or how long it would be. Silencing him or cutting him off before he could finish whatever statement or question he was about to ask if it was even remotely baby shower related. But before too terribly long, Black Star received Maka's "all clear" text and they all made their way back home.

Black Star covered Kid's eyes while Kilik held the door open and led them inside. Kid thought he might cry, he was so excited and Black Star was giggly too. When his eyes were uncovered, he saw an abundance of yellow decorations. Streamers, balloons, one of those adorable diaper cakes, a cake and snacks, and an enormous pile of presents. Maka grabbed his hands and brought him in to the middle of everything and helped him take a seat on the couch so that everyone could sit around him.

"So I thought we'd start off with a game before you open your presents," Maka said.

She had everyone sit around the couch and Liz passed out a handful of baby dolls. Kid and everyone else laughed as she did, and Maka passed around a diaper for everyone.

"Okay! We're gonna see who can put a diaper on their doll first, and whoever does wins a prize!" And once everyone was in starting positions, she yelled, "Okay, GO!"

And all at once, everyone's hands were moving, some stumbling more than others. It was a very odd and very hilarious race against time. Everyone was dissolving into giggles and snorts. Unsurprisingly to some and surprisingly to others, Black Star and Kilik raised both of their hands simultaneously. Everyone else stopped, having lost the game and taking a moment to laugh uproariously at their victory.

"So what do we win?" Black Star asked expectantly.

Maka laughed until her eyes were teary, "The first piece of cake!"

After the giggling and chuckling was over, Liz immediately shoved one of her presents into Kid's hands.

"I want you to open this one first!" she was bouncing excitedly as he delicately undid the wrapping. She rolled her eyes at him taking his time with it but didn't bother past that. She knew he hated ripping presents open like everyone else even if he wasn't planning to save the wrapping.

When the wrapping was undone and Kid had opened the untapped box, he held up an adorable yellow onesie. The box was full of unisex baby clothes. Kid was already feeling tears well up.

"Patty and I looked really hard to find clothes that would work for either sex and didn't have any mommy related words on them. We found a bunch in different sizes so these will last you until the baby's, like, eight months old," she told him.

Patty also handed over a sizable box and demanded he open it next. Inside was an infant-toddler bath tub set with a spout cover shaped like a whale and bath toys.

"Oh, this is precious," Kid whispered.

"And the water comes out from the blowhole here like a cool lil waterfall! Your baby will love bathtime!" Patty smiled.

"Okay, this one's from me!" Maka said as she dragged a rather large box over.

Kid had an idea of what it was already and set to opening it up. And to his delight, he was right. It was the jogging stroller he had wanted, right down to the brand, model and color. Kid could hardly even say 'thank you' as he covered his mouth in an effort not to cry.

"I know you'd want to stay active but would have to worry about the baby. With this, you can go on runs and take the baby with you! It'll be good for both of you."

Soul placed his present neatly by Kid and plopped himself unceremoniously back in his previous space. When Kid opened it, he examined the box and saw a whale shaped playmat and gym.

Soul explained, "Maybe it's kind of lame, but it's got the toys overhead the play music and sounds with the baby kicks the tail part."

Tsubaki finally stood with her gifts, another sizable box and a gift bag. Kid started on the box first and when he had opened it, Tsubaki gently said, "I thought you might like a swing. It has an automatic setting so if you have your hands full and can't rock the baby to settle them down, the swing will help them sleep."

"This is such a blessing, I really can't begin to tell you. Working from home won't be easy if I have a fussy baby on my hip the whole time."

"I hope the swing will really help! Open the other one, it's very special."

Kid opened the gift bag and pulled out a folded blanket tied with a ribbon. It was a very soft but durable material and had a cute night time theme to it.

"I made it myself. I thought having something handmade from someone close and having something to look back on would be good for them. So I hope they think fondly of their aunt when they see this blanket," Tsubaki explained.

That was what finally broke him. He'd tried his best not to cry at his baby shower, but it seemed like that just wasn't going to happen. So he cried as he held the blanket, very clearly made with an abundance of care, and couldn't wait for the baby to be able to hold it too.

* * *

After the shower, the reality that he would soon be giving birth came crashing down on Kid. They hadn't even discussed their birthing options with Dr. Gaskell yet. She'd given them breathing room so that they could figure things out on their own, but time was ticking away and she needed an answer. But Kid had none to give and he was terrified for it. The thought of the inevitable hospital visit filled him with dread.

And it came with an extraordinary wave of relief when Dr. Gaskell told him that he didn't necessarily have to give birth in a hospital.

She went on to explain, "There's plenty of people out there who choose to do things the old fashioned way at home with a midwife. You can choose to have your baby at home or in a natural birthing center, too. I think it might do some good to talk to someone there, I'll give you a card."

He took the card and quickly made a day where he and the boys could meet with a midwife and discuss the option further. He came home feeling hopeful and felt considerably less fear going into the natural birthing center than he did with the thought of going into a hospital.

"Most of our patients are cared for by their midwives from the start of their pregnancy, through the labor and even for a time after, but it's not unusual that we get patients like you who went through doctors and hospitals before us," Stella, the lady who greeted them, explained.

She led them through the waiting room and into the care facilities. They were all neatly kept and comfortable, stocked with fliers and pamphlets with information for patients and visitors to take home. She took them to one of the birthing rooms.

"So, what we do here is give options that hospitals don't so that labor is a better experience and the birth is easier. We have rooms that are open and airy or smaller and cozier. We have birthing pools and enclosed outdoor spaces, too. And I can assure you that our midwives are trained nurses that have had hospital experience. We're prepared for all of the usual mishaps that happen during labor, but should an emergency that we're not equipped to deal with arise, we have an emergency vehicle that will take you and your baby to the hospital nearby that can."

Kid looked around at the array of items and furniture in the room curiously and said, "I didn't think there were so many ways to give birth. I'd always thought it was the same for everyone."

Stella smiled warmly and said, "Most people do. But we like to look at things this way: women have been giving birth to babies for centuries without the help of drugs or hospitals, so if they could do it, we can still do it. Labor is a flow of things going on in your body to bring your baby into the world. Your body works with the baby. In a hospital, that flow gets all jumbled up because you have all the nurses and doctors, IVs and drugs, all kinds of things interrupting it. We like to let your body and your baby work together, as uninterrupted as possible. We'll help you move around and help you however you ask us, but for the most part, we'll be working in the background until that baby's coming out and we're there to catch them."

Hearing her speak put Kid's mind at ease.

He asked, "What about post-partum care? Do you keep your patients here after birth?"

"Most of our patients go home the day their baby is born. The exceptions are those that needed medication and therefore needed rest before leaving. We do give you time to bond with your baby after birth, help you with nursing if needed, and only after you've had those first moments will we give you and your baby a check-up unless there is an immediate need," she replied.

"Those 'first moments'… Is there a reason you do things that way specifically?"

She nodded, "See, your body starts a cycle of hormones when you go into labor, this is part of that flow that gets messed up at hospitals. One of the hormones that surges during labor specifically is oxytocin, sometimes called the love hormone. Those moments right after birth are important because you and your baby will have an abundance of that love hormone, so giving you that moment to really meet each other and allow your baby a chance to nurse before being moved away and examined, et cetera, is critical to forming a parental bond. Hospitals don't care about any of that. They let you see your baby for a second and take them away. It makes it hard for new moms to bond and it can cause lasting problems sometimes."

"I see," Kid answered thoughtfully. He stayed silent for a little while longer before declaring, "I'd like to give birth here."

Stella led them through the paperwork and checked their insurance to ensure it covered their care. She even agreed to take Kid on as her patient. Kid was glad that she would be his midwife and felt a little comforted by it. Stella took everything from there, contacting Dr. Gaskell for Kid's maternity files and patient history at her clinic. From then on, Kid would be seeing Stella for prenatal check-ups until the first few weeks of the baby's life. Stella also warned him that he may start feeling contractions soon if he hadn't already and gave him a list of things to look out for so that if he did go into preterm labor, he could contact her immediately. She described what the early contractions might feel like and how he could determine them from labor contractions.

And he didn't start feeling the Braxton Hicks contractions until shortly after visiting the natural birthing center. At first, they only felt a little strange, but before long, they started to cause discomfort. He found that walking around made him feel better during those times.

Over the last few weeks of his pregnancy, he also began to have trouble sleeping and doing things in general. He had trouble with this such as getting his pants and shoes on and began to feel useless as putting even the slightest bit of effort into something drained his energy. He'd taken to lying around on the couch and watching television with Reaper purring away on what was left of his lap.

He was 39 weeks pregnant when Stella informed him that his cervix was thinned out and had begun to dilate. There wasn't cause for concern just yet, but since he was so close to the 40 week mark, she wanted him to come in every day to check the progress of his dilation.

But 3 days before the 40 week mark, he woke up around 1 am to a wavelike and tight pain through his belly. He decided to get up and walk around the silent house to alleviate the pain but he found that doing so did not ease it. Stella had told him his labor pains would feel similar so he timed them. They were about eight to ten minutes apart. Not so close together that he should call her. Still, he went to the nursery to get the diaper bag and check and recheck that everything was there so that when his contractions were closer together they could call Stella and have her come by. Kid had decided that giving birth at home would be best instead of giving birth at the center.

He waited, timing his contractions periodically, before waking up the boys. It took several hours until his contractions were close enough to call Stella. Light had begun to paint the sky in warmer colors when he called her and woke them up. The pain had gradually become worse and Black Star offered his hand for Kid to squeeze whenever it got too bad. By the time Stella arrived, he was groaning and squeezing Black Star's hand until it bruised. He was beginning to have doubts that he could give birth without painkillers, but Stella talked him through his doubts. She stayed with him through his movements and stayed with him while he rocked and sat in the wading pool in the back yard. She urged the boys to keep their distance through the labor. They worried endlessly and Black Star had to fight hard to keep himself from rushing to Kid's side as he groaned loudly and almost screamed as the pain grew. He had come back inside by the time he began to feel the downward push and felt the urge. He knew he would need to push soon. Not at that moment but soon.

Stella had prepared a place for him to either lie back or sit upright to push.

"Just move however you feel will be best to push," she told him.

He first tried lying back but it hadn't felt right. He tried lying on his side but that hadn't felt right either. Then, sitting upright on the specially made stool, he finally felt that this was best. It allowed him a wider stance and helped the downward push. The stool had handles on either side for him to grasp.

"Remember to breath and push with your contractions. Bear down like you're trying to have a bowel movement but do it harder. Listen to your body's urges and believe in yourself that you can do this."

It took two and a half hours of pushing before the baby's head began to show. It was more painful than anything Kid had ever experienced. Worse than breaking a bone and worse than the car accident he'd been in a few years prior. It felt so excruciatingly bad that felt he might really die.

"One more big push and the baby's head will be out," Stella urged him.

He pushed with all his might. He felt the baby's head come free.

"Come on, Kid. One more big push!"

And he did. He was able to feel it when she pulled the baby free, wiping the blood and mucus and whatever else as she did.

"Happy birthday, baby boy," she said, handing him over to Kid.

Kid held him gently, looking deeply into his son's eyes as he opened them, breathing deeply with him before telling him, "Happy birthday, Sterling."

Tears form at his eyes, his boys rushed to his side, each sharing a kiss with him and pressing a kiss to their son's head before jumping back into each other's arms, crying with absolute joy and euphoria. Kilik sobbed slightly as joy overtook him but Black Star cried loudly with happiness and sunk to the floor.

The tiny baby boy suckled at Kid's breast gently as he held him. It wasn't until after that he was properly and fully cleaned. Stella allowed both of the boys to help cut the umbilical cord free. Stella cleaned up after the birth as quietly as she could, leaving the four boys to have their first bonding moments and after, she filled out the birth certificate.

At 8:49 am on an early, dew covered morning, their little star, Sterling, was born.


	8. Chapter 8

The first week home with Sterling was the easiest. The boys had taken off work for the week to help Kid with the baby, allowing him some extra time to sleep and recover from the birth. While the boys learned how to be dads, Kid got to sleep away the soreness and help direct them while he was awake.

Black Star probably did the most with the baby while Kilik cooked as he usually did. It made Kid smile even more when he thought about it. After the fuss and excitement of the birth was over, and the boys all got to have a moment with the baby, it was clear that Sterling was definitely Black Star's baby. His skin was only slightly lighter than Black Star's, not quite as light as Kid's however, and his short, downy hair was just as messy and a slightly darker color. And while he didn't have a trace of Kid's white streaks, he did have the deep gold eyes, trademark of the Death family.

It made Kid smile to see Black Star going out of his way to take care of his son. Of course, being biologically Black Star's didn't make him any less Kilik's son. Kilik did just as much, if only slightly less for little Sterling, at least while he could.

Of course, it didn't last long. When the week was up, Kid would be on full-time baby duty while the boys went out to work. He knew what to do, but he hadn't quite been prepared for the sleeplessness that came along with it. The first week by himself was the hardest. He'd been getting a good amount of sleep the first week thanks to the boys, but now he had to give up and get up several times a night to take care of Sterling.

He eventually found a rhythm with his newborn, waking up the instant before his cries that would signal him for either a feeding or a diaper change. He was proud of himself for adjusting so quickly and was even more proud of himself for handling the messy diapers, shriveling umbilical stump and spit up without going into a panic or being too squicked to finish the job.

Kid found himself enjoying the first weeks of parenting. It made him feel needed and wanted without question. He knew it was terrible for a part of him to still think his boys thought ill of him or didn't truly want him after all the time and love they've invested in their relationship. He did also worry that the stress of parenting might put more stress on their relationship but he was determined to do the best he could as a parent and as lover to make everything work.

His favorite part of being a new parent was, without a doubt in his mind, the sweet moments that Sterling was awake and calm. He spoke softly to the baby and kept his interest, letting his tiny hands grasp his fingers. It made his heart swell with a very precious and new love.

Over the course of the workday, he would send floods of adorable photos from his phone to his boys and their friends. Patty and Liz especially enjoyed them and requested copies of every photo to put into a scrapbook they were planning to put together. He remembered Patty was the more excited of the two to take on the project and even offered to make an identical one for Kid and the boys to keep, which they accepted, of course.

At the end of the day, life would go on as usual, Kilik would cook while Black Star cleaned himself up after work. They would enjoy their meal together and then the boys would get their special bonding moments with Sterling. Kid liked to take a power nap during those moments, but not before he could witness at least a little of that time before nodding off so that his dreams would be filled with sweet things.

Over the first month, Kid noticed Sterling's focus and response growing. The little boy could focus on his face when he held him and seemed to enjoy when Kid would gaze lovingly and speak low, sweet words to him. But it wasn't until Sterling could hold his head up on his own that Kid felt a surge of pride. He instantly decided that he wanted to record every single milestone. He decided to work with Patty and Liz on the scrapbooks, contributing photos, dates and ages so that each page would be unique to Sterling's development.

It was also around this time that everyone began visiting more often, having waited until the boys had gotten a little more used to parenting. And each one of them enjoyed their moments with Sterling with absolute delight. When the sisters came to visit their nephew, Liz openly cried and Patty smiled with such light that even Kid wasn't sure if he'd ever seen her as happy as she was when she held Sterling. Maka teared up and, though he denied it resolutely, Kid was certain he'd seen Soul's eyes suspiciously shiny. All of the grandparents visited as well, and Kid had made sure to photograph everyone with Sterling so that he and the sisters could add them to the scrapbooks as well.

Kid and the boys watched their little star grow from a tiny newborn into a quickly growing 3-month-old. Sterling could now lift his head during "tummy time" and was smiling all the time. Kid was proud to have such a happy little boy. He could follow things he found interesting and was even mimicking his papas' faces. Kid could spend an eternity just making faces with his little star. He was waving his arms, lifting himself, grasping toys, and kicking his legs. He especially enjoyed the little gym mat that his Uncle Soul had gotten him. He learned very quickly that when he kicked his legs, the toys would move and the music would play. Music made the little boy squeal with delight, and it was one of Kid's favorite moments at this age and later on, he would have a very large collection of home videos of Sterling enjoying music from his happy squeals to his dancing at later ages.

He had also begun babbling and would attempt to mimic the sounds he heard. And it wasn't long before he was having "conversations" with his papas. He graduated from lifting himself with some difficulty to sitting up and rolling over on his own. He could respond to his name and seemed to understand the tone of voice too, understanding Kid's shouts when he was about to put something he shouldn't into his mouth. Loud noises would startle him, but he was a very calm baby and would only react with a small, gurgled baby gasp.

Five months of age was the time it started to get really difficult for Kid. Sterling began teething at this age and was inconsolable most of the time. Kid would be up with a colicky little boy for long hours at night. He did his best to let the boys sleep fully at night so they could go into work the next day with as little sleep deprivation as possible. He had gather a collection of new teethers and pacifiers that could be frozen to soothe the poor boy's aching gums and help the teeth break through, but it didn't seem to help as much as Kid had hoped it would. Some nights, he'd be up until dawn, pacing the living room and even going outside and swinging with the crying baby held close on the porch swing, until Sterling finally wore himself out and nodded off.

That was the hardest part of parenting for Kid. Being unable to soothe his son made him feel useless.

As time progressed, the boys moved up from bumbling new parents to parents who had, at least, a better idea of what they were doing now. They knew Sterling would be crawling soon and began baby proofing the house. Black Star especially enjoyed it because it gave him an opportunity to make very terrible jokes while he was crawling around at baby height to make sure all the bases were covered. They patched up all the corners, put baby-proof locks on all the cabinets, alarms on the doors leading outside, added a latch to the fridge doors and put baby-proof plugs into all of the electrical outlets. They also added baby gates to any of the rooms that had an open doorway rather than a door they could close and added baby-proof doorknob covers to the doors that had one.

As Sterling began crawling, Kid became very anxious about keeping his eyes on the little boy as often as possible. He followed him around almost obsessively while he explored, too scared of what might happen if he didn't to let the boy out of his sight for even a second.

He also found recipes for making baby food at home when it was finally time to start introducing solid foods. Once he was finally used to one food and Kid had introduced others, he showed a very clear taste for the sweeter and more tasteful foods rather than those that didn't have much of a taste. Kid remedied that with clever recipes that would be tastier for his growing taste buds.

Sterling also grew very fast and more explorative as he graduated to very quick crawling, scooting and even standing up, with a little help from the nearest object, of course. He also surprised everyone by saying his first word at 7 months, "ticky", which translated from baby babble to mean "kitty". The little boy loved Kid's cat, Reaper, and would follow that cat around. Reaper was also very conscious of the boy and would often keep an eye on his from one of his shelf perches and would jump down to soothe him when he fell or bumped his head and cried but would prefer to stay out of arms' reach since the boy hadn't quite gotten a grasp on being gentle with pets. Titan, however, was more than happy to let the child climb, pull and step on him without getting hurt or upset and was a much better babysitter than the cat.

At 10 months, Sterling stood on his own and just two weeks later he took his first steps without supporting himself. The boys encouraged him to walk on his own as often as possible, getting him to walk between the three of them by getting his attention with toys and making funny faces. Around this time, he also began learning more words and one-word phrases, learning how to better communicate with his voice rather than the gestures he had been using to communicate.

By his first birthday, he was walking, almost running, speaking clearer words, knew all of family's names, including grandparents, aunts and uncles, feeding himself simple foods, was weaned off of his pacifier and bottles, and mimicking others' actions to learn about his world much more.

That was when Kid began to feel like his little star was growing up a bit too fast.


End file.
